SOPHOCLES’

AJAX
Αἴας

Produced between 450 and 430 B.C.

Translated by
G. Theodoris
2009

D r a m a t is Per so n a e

Athena – A Goddess
Odysseus - The king of Ithaca
Ajax - King of Salamis
Chorus of Sailors
Tecmessa - Wife-captive of Ajax
Teucer - Ajax’s half-brother
Menelaus - King of Sparta
Agamemnon - King of Mycenae
Messenger
Various Attendants - Soldiers -Silent
Nurse - To Eurysaces -Silent
Eurysaces - Young son of Ajax and Tecmessa -silent
Herald – Silent

———————————

Still dark, just before Dawn. At the siege of Troy. In front of Ajax’s hut. A feeble light which is emanating
through the hut’s door provides the lighting for the stage. Noises of “tortured cattle” also emanate from
within. Enter Odysseus who is searching around the hut, looking for something on the surrounding
ground. A few seconds later, we hear the voice of Athena from somewhere behind him. Her voice makes
Odysseus stop in his tracks and look around him for her.

Athena: Son of Laertes! I always seem to catch you when you’re in the process of cooking up some trap
or other for your enemies. And now, here you are again, Odysseus! In front of Ajax’s hut, at the very
edge of the camp, searching the ground for his footprints, just like a hunter, wondering, no doubt if he’s
inside. You’ve been at it for hours now. You sniff about with that keen nose of yours just like a Spartan
hound and you get to your prey in no time at all.
She appears in the shadows behind Odysseus.
Yes, Odysseus, Ajax is inside. Sweat is pouring out of his forehead and blood is dripping from his hands
and from his slaughtering sword. So, now there’s no need for you to go on peering through that door.
Just tell me what you’re after and I’ll tell you. I know what’s going on.
Odysseus: Ah! The voice of our dear, beloved goddess, Athena! I recognise that voice so well that I know
it’s you even if I can’t see you! Might as well be a Tyrrhenian trumpet shouting through its brass mouth!
Athena enters gently.
You’ve guessed well, Athena. Yes, I am searching around on the ground checking the footprints of an
enemy of mine. Ajax, the man with the big shield! It’s him I’m after! Him and no one else! And I’m after
him because he’s a suspect to a shocking deed. One that was committed last night. Insufferable stuff… if
it is him. Nothing’s for certain yet, of course! We’re all still just wondering about it, so, I took on this
investigation myself. Voluntarily. We’ve just discovered that someone has slaughtered all the cattle we
have plundered – as well as the cowherd! Everyone says Ajax is the culprit. A scout saw him, rushing
about in the valley, alone, with his sword dripping blood, as you said and then that scout came to me
and told me about it. So, here I am, hot on the trail. There’s no doubt, some of these tracks are his, all
right but then, there are these others that baffle me a bit. I can’t tell where he is, really. Just as well
you’re here. Just in time. You were always my guide and you always will be.

Athena: I already knew all this, Odysseus and that’s why I’m here, I want to help you with your hunting
expedition.

Odysseus: So, my dear goddess, am I on the right track?

Athena: Yes, the slaughter was committed by this man.

Odysseus: So why did he do such a crazy thing?

Athena: Anger made him crazy. The jury awarded the armour of dead Achilles to you and not to him.

Odysseus: Yes, but what does that have to do with the herd of cows he slaughtered?

Athena: He thought he was slaughtering you. The blood that stained his hands, he thought was your
blood.

Odysseus: Did he think he was slaughtering all the Greeks?

Athena: And he would be thinking correctly if I hadn’t kept a close eye on matters.

Odysseus: How did he even dare do such a thing? What made him so sure he’d succeed in killing us all?

Athena: He started off on his own, against you all, secretly, in the middle of the night.

Odysseus: And did he get near us? Did he reach our tents?

Athena: Indeed he did. Got right up to the gates of the two Commanders.

Odysseus: And? How did he manage to control his murderous hand, did he?
Athena: No, that was me. I stopped him from his mad urge to kill you, by throwing some potion into his
eyes. Disorientated him completely. Then I dragged him to where the herd of cattle and all the other
animals were. The herdsmen hadn’t yet separated the sheep from the cows. Ajax fell on them with great
relish. Hacked the horned animals to pieces. Cleaved into them. Spines and flesh scattered all around
him. One minute he thinks he’s cutting into the Atreus brothers –here’s Agamemnon, here’s Menelaos-
then it’s some other chief, then another… he thought he was attacking and killing them all with his bare
hands. But then, as he was driving himself deep into his madness, I egged him on and on until I drove
him right up to the edge of a terrible trap. Eventually, he got exhausted from all the slaughter and, after
a little rest, he rounded up all the remaining live cattle, tied them and brought them here. He thought
he had tied up men instead of horned beasts! So, he’s in there now with them. He’s got them all tied up
and he’s torturing them. Let me show you now the madman and all his deeds, so that you can go and
tell all the rest of the Argives what you saw. Don’t worry, no harm will come to you! I’ll just shuffle about
the rays of his eyes a bit so he won’t be able to see you.
Shouting in the direction of the hut
You in there! Yes you! The man who’s bending back the arms of his prisoners and tying them up behind
their backs with ropes! Yes, you! Come out here! Yes, Ajax, I’m calling you! Come out here, outside, in
front of your hut!

Odysseus: Athena, what on earth are you doing? Don’t call him out here!

Athena: Be quiet, Odysseus! You’re behaving like a coward now!

Odysseus: For Heaven’s sake! Let him stay inside!

Athena: What are you afraid of? He is still a mere man, isn’t he?

Odysseus: Yes, a man AND an enemy! To me!

Athena: And isn’t laughing at one’s enemy the most enjoyable laughter?

Odysseus: It’d be just as enjoyable for me if he stayed in there.

Athena: What’s the matter, Odysseus? Afraid to face a madman?

Odysseus: A mad Ajax, yes! A sane Ajax no!

Athena: But, don’t worry because even though he’ll be right in front of you, he won’t be able to see you!

Odysseus: Of course he will! He’ll still have the same eyes, won’t he?

Athena: Odysseus, I’ll make his eyesight very dull. He won’t be able to see you at all!

Odysseus: Oh, well, the will of the gods is always accomplished! All right, I’ll stay.
Athena: Good. Stand still and be silent.

Odysseus: I’ll stand but I wish I weren’t standing here!

Athena: Towards the hut) Ajax! This is the second time I’m calling you. Is this how you treat your
friends?
Ajax comes out of his hut. He is holding a whip.
Ajax: Ah! Athena! Daughter of Zeus! A true and loyal friend, indeed! Indicating the cows inside) I thank
you for this great catch, in there. For that, I will make you some golden offerings.

Athena: Thank you, Ajax but tell me first: Has your sword soaked up enough Argive blood yet?

Ajax: Yes, there’s no denying it. I can certainly boast about that!

Athena: And the sons of Atreus? Agamemnon and Menelaos, did you use your strong arm against them,
as well?

Ajax: Those two will never again dishonour Ajax!

Athena: So, both of them are now dead, is that right?

Ajax: Let’s see if they can deprive me of my armour now!

Athena: Right! What about Odysseus, Laertes’ son? What’s happened to him? He hadn’t escaped you,
has he?

Ajax: Odysseus? That cunning fox? Do you want to know where he is?

Athena: Yes, that fox, Odysseus, your enemy.

Ajax: Odysseus is sitting comfortably inside, my Lady. The sweetest captive of them all. I don’t want him
to die quite yet.

Athena: Not yet? Why, what do you want to do first? Do you want to strike a deal with him first?

Ajax: What I want to do first is tie him up hard against a pole inside my hut…

Athena: And then what, Ajax? Do something horrible to the poor man?

Ajax: Only turn his back into a bloody pulp with my whip! Then I’ll let him die.

Athena: You shouldn’t put the poor man through such torture.
Ajax: In all other matters, my Lady, I’m at your command; but not in this matter. That man must pay the
proper penalty and the proper penalty is torture.
Athena: By all means, Ajax! Do as you please. If that’s what gives you pleasure, Ajax, then don’t hold
back. Stop at nothing. Do as you feel.
Noises of cattle from within the hut.

Ajax: Right, well, I must get back to work! Stand by me, Athena, stand by me always, help me with my
fight.
Ajax goes back into the hut.
Athena: See how powerful gods are, Odysseus? Ajax! Was there ever a man more wise, more
competent, more capable of doing the right thing at the right time than Ajax?

Odysseus: No, Athena. I can’t think of anyone better than Ajax and though he’s my rival, I do feel sorry
for him. Miserable sod! He suffers from a dreadful sickness. Obsessed by it. And, of course, Fate might
deliver this sickness to me one day as well. Life is but an illusion, it seems, a fleeting shadow.

Athena: So, Odysseus, since you know this, never show arrogance towards the gods. Say nothing that
will offend them. Never boast about your strength or your wealth being greater than another man’s.
You must understand, Odysseus, that one single day can bring about both, the achievement as well as
the destruction of a man’s efforts. The gods love good men but they hate the evil ones.
Exit Athena followed shortly afterwards by Odysseus.Some more noise from the cattle.
Short pause while the light inside the hut is extinguished and that of the sun becomes brighter.
Enter the chorus of Ajax’s sailors.

Chorus:
Ajax, son of Telamon! Ajax, whose home is Salamis, the lofty, sea-splashed, island.
When you do well, I rejoice but I get anxious and worried, my Lord when I see Zeus’ punishment aimed
directly at you or when the gossiping tongues of all the Danaans spread quickly damaging rumours
about you! I get very worried, my Lord! Worried, like a little dove whose eye sees fear. Like the
disgraceful gossip that we heard about last night, Ajax! They say you went into the valleys where the
animals were held. All those animals that were captured by the Greek spear. You went in there and
began slaughtering them all, cutting them down with your big shiny sword! These animals hadn’t been
shared out among the soldiers yet! That’s what Odysseus is saying. He’s spreading all this stuff.
Whispering it across the ears of the whole army. And people believe him, my Lord. Totally! And not only
do they believe his accusations but he who hears the tale enjoys it more than does its teller. Your
suffering gives them courage. That’s how it is: Shoot a foul arrow at a noble man and you can’t miss.
Shoot slanders at someone like me and, well nobody will believe you! Envy only stalks the noble!
Little people like us are not very reliable guardians of a battlement without the presence of nobles!
It takes both to secure the wall, the little man and the big noble, helping each other. But these are not
words that fools can understand, my Lord and it is such fools that shoot their foul arrows at you. How
can we fight these fools without you? They’re like a flock of chattering birds, my Lord. When you’ve got
your back turned to them they go chattering on about you, saying all sorts of insulting things but, stand
up against them, like a wild eagle and they’re stiff with fear and they shut up.
What happened? Did you get Zeus’ darling daughter, Artemis, mad, my Lord? Was it that goddess who
plays with bulls who drove you into slaughtering that cattle, my Lord? All that cattle that had still not
been shared by all the Greeks? Was it because you haven’t paid her your respects, not given her, her
glittering share of some loot or other? Did you hold back on giving her some huntsman’s trophy,
perhaps? Is that why she got so angry with you? Or was it because… was it Ares, the god of War?
Big guy with the bronze armour. Fights on our side all the time. Did you get him angry? Was last night’s
doings some sly trick he played on you? Ajax must have made him jealous somehow. Still, all this is crazy
stuff! All this slaughtering of animals is not the sort of stuff that sensible people do. No, I think he was
struck by something from the Heavens… still, I hope Zeus and Apollo will cure him of it. I hope the gods
keep those horrible rumours away from the Greeks! But, then, my Lord, if our two mighty kings,
Agamemnon and Menelaos, along with that horrible Odysseus, the son of lowlife Sisyphus, if they go
about spreading lies about you, well then, don’t just hang about your huts across the waves and let your
good name be sallied! Don’t do that! Come, get up now! You’ve been brooding in there long enough!
Come, you’ve had a long enough rest from the battle. Come out now and stop this spreading blaze of
mocking. It’s reaching the skies now! Come! Don’t let the vile tongues of your enemies spread insolence
wildly all about in the fields, with the help of the scorching winds of destruction! I cannot put up with it
any longer!
The door to the hut opens and Tecmessa appears.

Tecmessa: Sailors, good friends of Ajax, sons of Erechtheus, a race of mortals! We who love the distant
House of Telamon feel enormous grief. Because right now, our Ajax, our mighty, our awesome, our
untamed Lord, is stricken with a sickness whose fury has shaken his very soul!

Chorus: Trojan daughter of Teleutas, tell us, what weighty deed, has last night cast upon yesterday?
Brave Ajax has won you by his war-spear and brought you close to his heart, so you would know what
truly happened. Tell us!

Tecmessa: What words can I use to tell of things that defy words? The man has suffered pains equal to
death itself! He’s gone mad! Some evil frenzy has gripped his mind in the middle of the night! Our
glorious Ajax is mad! Go, look into his hut, yourselves! There you will see the work of a madman.
Sacrificial offerings slaughtered mindlessly by his own hands. Blood and gore is scattered everywhere.

Chorus: What dreadful news you give us, Tecmessa! Unbearable news! Our mighty warrior! Ajax!
Unbearable, yet undeniable! The miserable, rumour-mongering Greeks have spread all this already!
A couple of the men peer reluctantly through the door of the hut.
Ah! What will happen to us now? If the public sees all this…The disgrace alone will kill him! His wild
hands and his black sword have slaughtered all the herds, the herdsmen as well as their horses!

Tecmessa: Indicating the fields to the left of the hut) He took a hold of them all up there. He roped them
all up out there and brought them down here. That whole herd of animals. Some of them he took inside
and slaughtered them there and then, on the ground and the rest he cut to bits hacking into their sides.
There were two rams with white feet. He sliced the head of one of them, clean off, then its hanging
tongue and threw them on the floor. The other one, he stood it upright on its hind legs and tied up
against a pole. Then he took a double-thick leather strap, the one he uses to tie up the horses with and
whipped the poor animal ruthlessly, all the time yelling all sorts of vulgar words, words which he could
have learnt only from some god, certainly not from a mortal!
Chorus: It’s time now, I think for us to hide our faces in shame and slide secretly away…Or sit at the
rowers’ benches and work the oars of our swift ocean-travelling ships and sail away for home. The two
royal Atreus brothers are hurling dreadful threats at us. Stoning to death! Why should I suffer that,
alongside a man whose Fate is inevitable?

Tecmessa: No, he’s not like that any more. His frenzy is gone now. Just like a southerly wind that spins
about with all that bright lightning and then dies down. The fury is gone from him and his mind is well
but now he’s got a new sickness in his soul. Now he realises what he has done, how horrible his deed
was and that it was he and he alone who did it. And that, my friends, is hurting him most bitterly.

Chorus: Ah, good! Excellent news! If the madness has gone and he’s now well, then surely that takes
away from the horror of his deed.

Tecmessa: But if you were given a choice, a choice of either hurting your friends or you feeling good or
sharing in your friend’s pain, which would you choose?

Chorus: Tecmessa, the worse of the two is the double sorrow.

Tecmessa: In that case, now that he’s no longer sick we are in pain.

Chorus: What? What do you mean? I don’t understand what you’re saying.

Tecmessa: While that man was in the grips of his sickness he was happy but we felt sad seeing him like
that. Now that he is no longer insane he is gripped by sorrow and pain as he found out what he had
done and we, in turn, feel sad, seeing him like this; just as sad as we felt when he was sick. Is this not a
double sorrow, replacing a single one?

Chorus: Yes, I see. I am afraid that perhaps some god has sent this sickness to him. Why else would he
be well and yet still suffer?

Tecmessa: I think, the way things are right now, you ought to know the full story.

Chorus: How did it all begin? What caused all this misfortune of his? Please tell us, Tecmessa. We have a
share in these pains.

Tecmessa: Yes, I can see you do, so I’ll explain everything. Right in the middle of the night, when all the
lights have been extinguished, he took up his two-edged sword and began to leave the hut; as if he was
summonsed to go to some errand or other. I stopped him and asked him, “Where are you off to, Ajax? I
didn’t hear the trumpet for a general call and no herald came for you. You’ve not been asked to go
anywhere or do anything, so why are you leaving like this? Everyone’s asleep out there!”
What I got as an answer from him was the usual short insult. “Listen woman! Women are only beautiful
when they are silent!” At that I shut up and he ran out of the hut all alone. I’ve no idea what happened
out there but when he came back he was dragging behind him bulls, all tied up, guard dogs and sheep,
as if they were a prize of some sort for him. Some of those animals, he cut off their heads, others he tied
upside down up on poles and slit their throats and others he smashed their spines to bits. Then there
were the other animals that he tied up and started torturing them as if they were men.
After all that, he ran out the gate and started screaming out at some shadow, all sorts of insults directed
one minute at the Atreus brothers and the next at Odysseus and, at the same time, laughing loudly at
the thought of the disaster he had just caused in his madness. Then he rushed back into the hut and
slowly and with difficulty regained his senses. But then, as he looked around and became aware of what
he had done -the whole room clogged with ruin and destruction- he struck his head with his hand and
let out a horrible shout. Then he fell down among all the bloody carcasses and all the slaughtered sheep.
Then he began to tear out his hair with his finger nails.
For a while he just sat there in total silence and then, when he finally spoke, he uttered all sorts of
threats to me if I didn’t tell him exactly what had happened in the hut and how he got to the state he
was in. I was frightened by his threats, my friends and so I told him as well as I could, the whole story.
When he heard it all he began to cry. I’ve never ever seen him cry like that before! He used to always say
that crying was a sign of weakness in a man. A sure sign that the man is a coward.
And how he cried! Deep groans, moans, really, hardly audible, like those a bellowing bull would make.
So now, deeply hurt by the disaster he caused, he lays there, without food or drink, among all the
bloody carcasses he cut down with his sword. From his words and his deep grief, it looks obvious to me
that he’s thinking of doing some great harm to himself. But that’s why I’m out here, my friends. To ask
you to go inside and help him in any way you can. The words of friends can often cure a man in his
condition.

Chorus: Tecmessa, daughter of Teleutas, what Ajax has suffered is horrible!

Ajax: From within the hut) Oh! Oh! What a disgusting man I am!

Tecmessa: Hear that? Looks like Ajax is getting worse.

Ajax: From within the hut) Oh, no! No! How shocking!

Chorus: Either he’s in pain or he’s just realised what he’s done earlier.

Ajax: From within the hut) Oh, my son! My darling boy!

Tecmessa: Oh, no! My darling son! Eurysaces, he’s calling for you, my boy! What is he thinking
now? Where are you, my son? Oh no! This is horrible!

Ajax: From within the hut) I’m calling for Teucer! Teucer my brother! Where is he? Will he go on fighting
while I’m dying here?

Chorus: He sounds all right to me! Shouts at Ajax) Come, open the door, Ajax!
Back to his friends) Perhaps he’ll pluck up some courage and feel better, once he sees me.

Tecmessa: Opens the door slowly) Here, take a look inside. See what he’s done in there. Check out the
state he’s in.